Michigan history: Sherman gives his 'war is hell' speech

10:56 PM,
Jun. 15, 2013

William Tecumseh Sherman

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Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman gave his famous "war is hell" speech at the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake on June 19, 1879.

The Civil War hero was addressing the seven cadets who were graduating from the now-shuttered school in Oakland County, but was surprised to find that an estimated 10,000 people had shown up to hear the great military leader. Charles Oliver Brown, the pastor of Rochester Congregational Church, sat next to Sherman at the graduation. Brown had gained his own fame as a "boy bugler" in Sherman's army, reportedly having gone off to war at age 13.